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FRACKVILLE — Two inmates and four staff members in the state Department of Corrections have tested positive for COVID-19, DOC officials said.

Department Secretary John Wetzel said Wednesday the two inmates who tested positive are incarcerated at State Correctional Institution/Phoenix in Collegeville, Montgomery County, an early hotspot in Pennsylvania for the virus.

Wetzel would not say at which facilities the four staff members are employed, citing regulations by the state Department of Health dealing with patient confidentially.

In trying to deal with the fast spreading coronavirus, Wetzel said the department began a statewide quarantine at all facilities and instituted increased screening, including temperature checks of any new inmates, those who show symptoms of the virus and staff members reporting to work.

Any inmate or staff member showing symptoms is immediately tested for coronavirus, he said.

The DOC has partnered with several laboratories to get faster test results.

Moreover, staff members entering a facility must fill out a questionnaire along with having their temperatures taken.

Wetzel said the DOC is taking into account areas of the state where a high number of coronavirus cases are reported in communities that surround a state prison.

“We’re focusing a lot of our resources on the southeast,” he said.

Since Monday, new inmates are being taken to SCI/Retreat in Hunlock Creek for a pre-screening before being transferred to the prison they will be serving their sentence in. After a 14-day quarantine, if they are deemed medically cleared, the prisoners are then transferred.

Arriving at the new facility, each prisoner is screened a second time. If anyone shows signs, “the whole bus is turned around,” Wetzel said.

The precautions appear to be working, he said.

“Our steps have delayed the virus from coming into a number of our facilities,” Wetzel said.

574 inmates released

The DOC is also in the process of trying to reduce the inmate population across the state, which now stands at about 44,500.

Locally, the DOC lists the number of inmates at SCI/Mahanoy at 2,357 as of Wednesday while SCI/Frackville has 1,206 inmates.

In March, Wetzel said 574 inmates were released statewide.

Inmates eligible for release, such as those who completed or are over their minimum sentence, are being referred to the state parole board for release.

However, Wetzel said the parole board has three vacancies, thus slowing the process. Work continues to fill the vacancies.

Releasing eligible inmates takes time because the parole board has to ensure a smooth re-entry into society, such as making sure they have a place to reside, have medical and outpatient services, counseling and employment.

And employment has become a factor since the coronavirus pandemic.

“Three weeks before this (COVID-19) became a way of life we had all kind of jobs, employers were waiting for people coming out of prison,” he said.

However, Wetzel said the DOC is working with other agencies to expedite the number of releases for eligible inmates.

“Part of our response (to coronavirus) has to be having less people,” he said.

Another set of inmates who can be released early are those incarcerated for parole violations.

These inmates, Wetzel said, would be considered if the nature of the violation was not violent and did not result in new charges being filed against them.

For the remaining inmates, Wetzel said a quarantine is in place including limiting the movement of inmates to small groups and social distancing.

All staff masked

The safety of staff members is a high priority and changes have been instituted in that area as well.

“We made the decision to put all the staff in masks two weeks ago,” he said.

All staff members wear cloth masks with the exception of medical staff and officers on a unit where is a confirmed case. Those staff members wear the N95 masks as recommended for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Wetzel said.

He said the DOC knows the danger of the pandemic and is acting accordingly.

“We’re just trying to maximize everything we have,” the commissioner said.

Contact the writer: fandruscavage@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6013

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